1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a sheet handling apparatus for sorting and storing copy sheets, recording sheets or the like.
2. Description of the Prior Art
For the purpose of sorting and storing the copy sheets, recording sheets or the like transported, after image formation, from an image forming apparatus such as copier, duplicator or other recording instrument, there has been employed a sheet handling apparatus (hereinafter called sorter) in combination with such image forming apparatus.
Such sorter is generally provided with ten to twenty sheet receiving trays, and the sheets consecutively ejected from the image forming apparatus such a as copier at a regular interval are stored in succession into said trays by means of conveyor belts and/or plural rollers.
Among such sorters there is already known a sorter in which the sorting and storage of sheets are achieved by moving the trays in succession to a position corresponding to the sheet ejecting exit of the copier or the like.
Such sorter is activated by a sorter start signal, generated from the copier simultaneously with the actuation of the copy start button, to move the trays to a position corresponding to a first tray, and, upon completion of said tray movement a stand-by signal is supplied from the sorter to the copier to initiate the image forming operation therein. Consequently the time required for forming the first copy becomes longer, by the time required to move said trays to the first tray position, in comparison with the case where such sorter is not used.
In recent years, the sorters are often constructed as independent units connectable to various copiers. Therefore, the sorter of the above-explained kind, if connected to a copier of a short first copying time, is unable to fully utilize the advantage of such copier.